From Housingwire:
CoreLogic: 5 drivers of housing in 2015
Here are CoreLogic’s five facts and predictions for 2015:
1. Millennials will start buying
The young Generation Y experienced a strong boost in job growth that will help spur housing in 2015. Millennials posted a 3% improvement in employment growth, which is one percentage point higher than the overall employment growth rate.
“While part of the improvement is the demographic transition of Millennials as they age, it is still very good news, because this age cohort is the key first-time homebuyer segment,” the report said.
2. Oil price drops will benefit housing
“Households in the U.S. spend more than $1,800 on energy-related costs annually and 22% of that energy consumption is due to residential real estate,” CoreLogic said. “So while the drop in oil prices has typically been linked to a reduction in driving-related expenses, it clearly also reduces energy-related expenses for residential real estate.”
…
3. Home price growth will remain mutedHome prices growth is forecasted to be fairly muted going forward as mortgage rates continue to hover around 4%.
“While rates are still very low, home prices are not. It is clear that the low-rate environment has benefited home prices, as price-to-income and price-to-rent ratios are high,” CoreLogic said.
4. Houston will be the most interesting housing market to watch
Houston continues to thrive thanks to its strong energy market and household growth over the past few years.
…
5. Housing demand will jumpOverall sales are projected to increase to 5.8 million in 2015, up 9% from 5.3 million in 2014, while total housing starts are expected to reach 1.1 million in 2015, a 14% year-over-year increase.
However, this is still 23% below the 1.45 million average seen over the last 50 or more years.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is only expected to rise to 4.3%, up from 4.2% in 2014.
“Overall, the economy finally appears to be gaining enough momentum to help provide the support that the housing market has needed for stronger recovery. The combination of stronger employment growth and especially millennial job growth makes for solid footing for the real estate market,” the report said.
Case Shiller due out in a bit as well.
From the Record:
New Jersey minimum wage rising to $8.38 Jan. 1
New Jersey workers at the bottom of the pay scale will get a raise Thursday, when the state’s minimum wage rises from $8.25 an hour to $8.38.
It will be the second raise in a year for the state’s 73,100 minimum-wage workers. The minimum wage rose from $7.25 to $8.25 an hour last Jan. 1, after voters approved the pay bump and voted to amend the state constitution to tie future raises to the inflation rate.
…
Jon Whiten of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive group that supported the higher wage, said it “has helped hundreds of thousands of low-wage New Jersey workers take home a little more pay, while improving the chances that those workers — who are increasingly older and more educated — can survive and begin to chart a course to the middle class.”
Whiten said this week’s wage increases won’t affect just the 73,100 New Jersey workers who earn the minimum. As pay scales shift upward, an estimated 100,000 more workers who earn just above the minimum also should see a modest increase, he said.
NJPP and other advocates say that a higher wage will pump millions into the state economy because low-wage workers spend their extra pay on necessities like food and gasoline.
“Reagan ended his 1988 farewell speech with the memorable line, “man is not free unless government is limited.”
The line is still a rallying cry for the right wing, but the speech came at the end of a long period of government expansion. Under Reagan, the federal workforce increased by about 324,000 to almost 5.3 million people. (The new hires weren’t just soldiers to fight the communists, either: uniformed military personnel only accounted for 26 percent of the increase.)
In 2012, the federal government employed almost a million fewer people than it did in the last year of Reagan’s presidency.”
@MotherJones: These Charts Show How Ronald Reagan Actually Expanded the Federal Government
4. Houston will be the most interesting housing market to watch
Houston continues to thrive thanks to its strong energy market and household growth over the past few years
Is he smoking pot. Big Layoffs in Energy has been brewing for a few weeks. Houston will tank in 2015
“Job markets are tighter and it does indicate greater opportunity for salary increases,” said John Bremen, managing director Towers Watson, a human resource and risk consulting firm.
“We are expecting hourly wages to pick up,” says Beth Ann Bovino, US chief economist at Standard & Poor’s. She expects wages to approach a 2.5% increase by the end of 2015.
An Aon Hewitt survey projects that 2015 salary increases will hit their highest levels since 2008. ”
@GuardianUS: After five years of recovery, US workers can expect to see raises in 2015
Al Sharpton was in Sears. He was there to protest the fact that most all of the washing machines were white. So the clerk called the store manager, who asked, “What’s the problem here, Reverend?” Sharpton pointed at the machines and loudly bemoaned the fact that most of them were white. The manager replied, “Well, Reverend, it’s true that most of the washing machines are white, but if you’ll open the lids, you’ll see that all the agitators are black.”
@32BJ_SEIU: 20 states will raise #minimumwage Jan. 1, incl.
#CT
#DE
#FL
#MD
#MA
#NJ
#NY
#RI
benefiting nearly 2.3 million workers
“The size of the hikes range from 12 cents in Florida to $1.25 in South Dakota. Among those states hiking the minimum wage, Washington state’s will be highest at $9.47. Oregon’s is next at $9.25., followed by Vermont and Connecticut at $9.15. Massachusetts and Rhode Island will have $9 minimum wages.
Of the states where the minimum wage is rising due to legislative or voter action, five — Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont — and D.C. will also newly implement inflation indexing, bringing the number of states that tie future minimum wage hikes to inflation to 15.”
What brain dead moron wrote this article? First they say that low oil prices will benefit housing growth and then they say that Houston will thrive because of their energy industry.
I think it odd they highlighted a single market.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home prices ticked down 0.1% in October, a second consecutive month of declining, cooling down after the summer sales market, according to S&P/Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite index released Tuesday. Among 20 tracked cities, prices fell in 10, rose in eight and were unchanged in the remaining two. After seasonal adjustments, home prices among the 20 cities rose 0.8% in October — the strongest result in seven months — compared with a 0.2% increase in September. Meanwhile, annual growth slowed down, with year-over-year home prices rising 4.5% in October — the slowest pace in two years — compared with annual growth of 4.8% in September. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected year-over-year price growth to slow to 4.7% in October. Annual home-price growth hasn’t been in the double digits since April, and slower appreciation may lure buyers. Through October home prices were about 16% below a 2006 peak.
October numbers looking strong
S&P Case Shiller NY Commuter Index – October 2014
(Under $286511) – Up 2.1% YOY, Up 7.1% 2YOY
($286511 – $459386) – Up 2.2% YOY, Up 8.7% 2YOY
(Over $459386) – Up 2.1% YOY, Up 6.9% 2YOY
(Overall Market) – Up 2.0% YOY, Up 7.0% 2YOY
Raising the minimum wage will result in increasing prices, lower sales, increased layoffs and an accelerated push to increased automation. Thanks Anon.
Look at the bright side, with all of the data being generated by the minimum wage increases across the country, we’ll settle the argument once and for all.
On yesterday’s discussion regarding property taxes, why should wealthier towns pay higher property taxes than poorer towns? Aren’t property taxes supposed to pay for local services? Wealthy towns have less not more crime per home, and tend to have fewer kids per household. The only reason property taxes are higher is that they became yet another wealth redistribution scheme, with government taxing more simply because they can get away with it. It’s not as if the town is writing you a home insurance policy.
Automation is coming anyway.
Hugh Hefner. Still. Not. Dead.
Grim,
It will not settle the debate. Most effects will be subtle, invisible, and appear with a lag. The economy is a thousand factor model with leads and lags, so it’s nearly impossible to isolate the effects of subtle changes. Have no doubt, given the predisposition of academic economists, anything good in the economy will be due to government regulation, anything bad will be due to capitalism.
Wealthier towns have lower property taxes(just look at the tax rate in alpine,Saddle River,Millburn, Essex Fells,Franklin Lakes all below 2% of home value). It is typically the wealthier people in more middle/upper middle class towns who pay high taxes.
http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/arrests-plummet-following-execution-of-two-cops/
Shit, had I known I would have driven in last Saturday and just parked illegally instead of taking the Path.
Houston….we have a problem….
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-29/oil-rigs-in-u-s-drop-by-37-to-lowest-level-since-april.html
grim: this property was sold 11 years ago, but it is back on the market if you are interested…..
http://pagesix.com/2014/12/30/giada-de-laurentiis-and-husband-separate-after-11-years/?_ga=1.165430911.1364055461.1410925202
If anyone really wants to read a prescient farewell address by a US President, Eisenhower’s is the best read:
“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm
God shes like a living bobble head, how does her neck hold that thing up.
jcer,
tax rates Isn’t 2% of a home in Alpine a lot of money?
Fire them for dereliction of duty
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 10:01 am
http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/arrests-plummet-following-execution-of-two-cops/
Or, just fire them since they’re obviously overstaffed
re: #22 – Bad and Worse Oil news.
Drillers have planned for this they are cutting cap ex and will let the existing wells run dry before they spend the 1.5 mil or so to drill a new one, however fracked wells run out quick and here in the USA estimates are we need to drill 6,000 new wells per year at a cost of $35 billion to maintain current production.
Here is some worse news, millions of barrels up in smoke in Libya this week.
Prepare for an invasion?
http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/136550/Two_Oil_Tanks_Destroyed_At_Libya_Port_Two_Others_Still_On_Fire
Libya Dawn? Do those guys have a hard on for 80s movies?
Rich towns for town only services such as school it is just their property taxes that support that. But certain other things are services shared by several towns, or at state level.
And the richer grive taxes much more often. I finally convinced my mother in law who is on a widow on a fixed income to do it this year and it was like pushing a rock uphill. Finally I got her 1,500 off and in a mix up she gets mailed form and accidentially rejects it and I had to deal with town after deadline to get it reinstated.
Meanwhile myself and my neighbor who is a CPA we litterally wear down the assessor office but I have neighbors who are old who never greive even the ones I told them I would help them do it.
Grieving is much more important for higher income folks as we are in AMT and property tax is not even deductable on taxes and plus I cant control the massive amount of Fed and State income taxes but I can control this. So why not.
Grieving is much more important for higher income folks as we are in AMT and property tax is not even deductable on taxes and plus I cant control the massive amount of Fed and State income taxes but I can control this. So why not.
Exactly. No you know what I was whining about.
re # 27 – Joyce – Deblasio will cave into the Police unions just like what Lindsay did which led to the dump became in the 1970s. The NYPD have been working without a contract since July 2010.
In the beginning of his term ALL of the city’s 300,000 union workers were without contracts Bloomberg refused to even bargain. All told, the unions are looking for more than $7 billion in back pay. The city does not have it, so there will have to be tax increases. Deblasio settled with the teachers in May first $3.4 billion in back pay (they helped him get elected), he may not be able to come up with back pay for cash and % increases for the NYPD without cutting services elsewhere.
My father grieved his taxes for years, he was such a pain in the you know what that they pretty much gave up, he was paying the same property taxes(~$7K) from 1990 until 2007, a 400k assessment on a home realistically worth 1.2M. Then they reassessed and he grieved back to 900k from 1.1M. I think in certain towns the assessors just don’t want to deal with it and steer clear of the people they’ve deemed impossible. He grieved twice in the early 90’s by 1993 I think they decided it wasn’t worth it and they shouldn’t try to increase the property taxes on this guy or he’d make their lives miserable.
On yesterday’s discussion regarding property taxes, why should wealthier towns pay higher property taxes than poorer towns? Aren’t property taxes supposed to pay for local services?
I would argue that maybe you should take pride in trying to have better local services than the poorer suburb. I work in a town that has one of the highest rated school systems in the state. It’s bleeding wealth. Yet, the run a bare minimum budget, much lower than the surrounding suburbs. Rankings are done by student performance alone, which neglects a lot of other things within the school system. The reality is, the school building has a bunch of broken heaters throughout the building. There are no computers in the classrooms. There’s a mold problem in one wing. The elementary school should have been updated 40 years ago. Why subject your children to substandard conditions when you have the money? I’m always amazed at how everyone in town is willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for Montessori and the best day care yet the friggin flip if the school budget might go up 3% which equates to an extra $200 on the taxes at most.
“Let’s go back to Card and Krueger. The reason that paper is so justly famous is that they exploited a neat little natural experiment: New Jersey raised its minimum wage, while Pennsylvania didn’t. So the economists, David Card and Alan Krueger, compared employment at fast-food establishments in New Jersey to nearby stores in Pennsylvania. What they found is that employment actually rose slightly in New Jersey compared with the control group across the state line.”
[34]jcer – Exactly. If you are persistent you can wear any bureaucrat down over time. In the end, if you are constantly taking up their time they just want to be done with you so they can get back to their no hassle text and web surf all day existence.
I think in certain towns the assessors just don’t want to deal with it and steer clear of the people they’ve deemed impossible.
I would argue why dont the lazy teachers pick up a paint brush now and then and spruce the space up.
NY has a 2 percent tax cap for schools thank God.
My kids schools are dumps beyond belief.But govt is so inefficent even if I wanted to vote yes to renovate all the schools and pay an extra 2k a year taxes by the time it was done my kids would be almost done with school and it would only help kids not yet in the school district.
Ben says:
December 30, 2014 at 10:54 am
On yesterday’s discussion regarding property taxes, why should wealthier towns pay higher property taxes than poorer towns? Aren’t property taxes supposed to pay for local services?
I would argue that maybe you should take pride in trying to have better local services than the poorer suburb. I work in a town that has one of the highest rated school systems in the state. It’s bleeding wealth. Yet, the run a bare minimum budget, much lower than the surrounding suburbs. Rankings are done by student performance alone, which neglects a lot of other things within the school system. The reality is, the school building has a bunch of broken heaters throughout the building. There are no computers in the classrooms. There’s a mold problem in one wing. The elementary school should have been updated 40 years ago. Why subject your children to substandard conditions when you have the money? I’m always amazed at how everyone in town is willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for Montessori and the best day care yet the friggin flip if the school budget might go up 3% which equates to an extra $200 on the taxes at most.
God he rehashes Card and Kreuger, a “study” that’s been so widely criticized as being flawed it’s more useful as a reference on poor protocol.
I always wondered, why didn’t Card and Kreuger look at all minimum wage payrolls? Or did they, and the data simply didn’t match their hypothesis, so the approach was changed?
Well said. It’s idiocracy at its’ best.
Ben says:
December 30, 2014 at 10:54 am
On yesterday’s discussion regarding property taxes, why should wealthier towns pay higher property taxes than poorer towns? Aren’t property taxes supposed to pay for local services?
I would argue that maybe you should take pride in trying to have better local services than the poorer suburb. I work in a town that has one of the highest rated school systems in the state. It’s bleeding wealth. Yet, the run a bare minimum budget, much lower than the surrounding suburbs. Rankings are done by student performance alone, which neglects a lot of other things within the school system. The reality is, the school building has a bunch of broken heaters throughout the building. There are no computers in the classrooms. There’s a mold problem in one wing. The elementary school should have been updated 40 years ago. Why subject your children to substandard conditions when you have the money? I’m always amazed at how everyone in town is willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for Montessori and the best day care yet the friggin flip if the school budget might go up 3% which equates to an extra $200 on the taxes at most.
I would argue why dont the lazy teachers pick up a paint brush now and then and spruce the space up.
Lol, if paint were the only issue, I’m sure we would. Then again, we aren’t allowed to. Hows about the crumbling wall, the leaking roofs, and the mold problem? Maybe we can be like you and apply for FEMA funds so we can hire people to do it for us?
Btw, I love how people complain about the inefficiency of the school system when they refuse to elect anyone other than soccer moms and construction insiders to the board of education. Then, at the board meetings, there are 1 to 2 residents max. These are the type of elections that you can actually steer in whatever direction you want but most residents are too lazy to learn anything and vote for the first couple of names on the ballot.
Yes, you know how many times I have beaten this drum. Wait till 5 years from now when wage inflation has taken hold. All aboard, this train is about to get moving…..get invested asap in stocks and real estate. Let the good times roll.
““Overall, the economy finally appears to be gaining enough momentum to help provide the support that the housing market has needed for stronger recovery. The combination of stronger employment growth and especially millennial job growth makes for solid footing for the real estate market,” the report said.”
No way, Barry said it was Lil Kim.
“US cybersecurity experts say they have solid evidence that a former employee helped hack Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer system — and that it was not masterminded by North Korean cyberterrorists.
One leading cybersecurity firm, Norse Corp., said Monday it has narrowed its list of suspects to a group of six people — including at least one Sony veteran with the necessary technical background to carry out the attack, according to reports.”
attack, according to reports.
The investigation of the Sony hacking by the private companies stands in stark contrast to the finding of the FBI, which said Dec. 19 its probe traced the hacking — which ended up foiling the planned wide release of the Hollywood studio’s “The Interview” — to North Korea.
Kurt Stammberger, senior vice president at Norse, said he used Sony’s leaked human-resources documents and cross-referenced the data with communications on hacker chat rooms and its own network of Web sensors to determine it was not North Korea behind the hack.
“When the FBI made this announcement, just a few days after the attack was made public, it raised eyebrows in the community because it’s hard to do that kind of an attribution that quickly — it’s almost unheard of,” Stammberger told Bloomberg News in a telephone interview from San Francisco.
“All the leads that we did turn up that had a Korean connection turned out to be dead ends,” he said.
The information found by Norse points to collaboration between an employee or employees terminated in a May restructuring and hackers involved in distributing pirated movies online that have been pursued by Sony, Stammberger told Bloomberg.
The initial demands by the group calling itself Guardians of Peace were extortion, rather than pulling the movie from release, he said.
http://nypost.com/2014/12/30/new-evidence-sony-hack-was-inside-job-cyber-experts/
Brilliant.
It’s the bottom line. People sit and complain all day long about education, but they never do anything about it. They act like it’s some conspiracy with public education. The only problem is people not giving a damn.
Ben says:
December 30, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Btw, I love how people complain about the inefficiency of the school system when they refuse to elect anyone other than soccer moms and construction insiders to the board of education. Then, at the board meetings, there are 1 to 2 residents max. These are the type of elections that you can actually steer in whatever direction you want but most residents are too lazy to learn anything and vote for the first couple of names on the ballot.
FEMA or Flood Insurance both wont pay for mold removal. I did the mold removal myself and it was nasty stuff. Ten days in a crawl space felt like 7 years a slave
Ben says:
December 30, 2014 at 12:38 pm
I would argue why dont the lazy teachers pick up a paint brush now and then and spruce the space up.
Lol, if paint were the only issue, I’m sure we would. Then again, we aren’t allowed to. Hows about the crumbling wall, the leaking roofs, and the mold problem? Maybe we can be like you and apply for FEMA funds so we can hire people to do it for us?
GSP infrastructure update for Shore Region….
http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xIavdlyCWWXhy44IaLpmdaIElBOtXGPzfSNBjkZIxWrLUfqRiEU6kfLvcPPA3GUeDSpSsnZ70VmIWQQq3tB-61SeSDOUGgtNCKLDL2Y1LviiJd1aApcguUTi5VYL9066tF62FcVT9suRwO8rhQNc0Y23LfIo6m_aoB85tcNR3JpKtDlB7km4so4NbBCFgfPgkQtELMtdWQ9cVzQEx0ckMNQzYggzaJRiBXFHplX3byk=&c=zuDUGr1mOOPJXRBSvu0IRGQmmSuCGIK929MUb-yR8ihPD7qLy8t-tQ==&ch=mJqMhpymppsWTFoA4IsfbJXLYovoEkuWUbBSRvHV-5zqBw99lCUJtQ==
JJ you are one cheap dude, doing your own mold removal is nasty stuff. You’ve got to hire that out, I’m sure an unlicensed contractor could have given you a deal.
Maybe if you had flood insurance
Does this report say it cost almost $3 Billion dollars to widen 50 miles of road? (100 miles if it was both north and sound bound)
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 12:58 pm
GSP infrastructure update for Shore Region….
re# 4 6 – He was really busy for 10 days popping tall boys as he watched the guest workers from Central America crawl in and out of the crawl space. I bet he even conned a few of those kids that volunteered from the Mormons, Red Cross etc to help clean out his house as well.
I wanted it done right. Plus I am super cheap. It is a four foot crawl space and it has insulation on the ceiling attached. My main level had water and I have oak floors.
The insulation that did not fall down attached to ceiling was soaking wet and my oak floors and subfloor lats were buckling in living room. Also insulation on walls in Den, laundry room and bathroom were wet. And it had raw sewerage mixed in and I had absestos in the stew. I needed it out ASAP.
I had masks, gloves, hat, boots and man that insulation is heavy and digusting. Then I had bright green and Black Mold on the actual wood. I used a pump connected to a generator that my neighbor borrowed from a neighbor to get remaining water out, then I mold spayed with this big sprayer this stuff that was like 20 bucks a gallon and left it overnight. Then I had to scrap it all off lots of dead mold and that took like 20 hours, then I bleached sprayed the it. Then I let it dry out by running humidfiers 24 hours a day for 7 days. Then I sprayed remaining spots, then when heat came on I waited another 7 days, did touch up sprays and scraping then we closed up walls and ceiling. Contractor refused to do it and mold remediation guy I got quote from wanted me to remove water and insualation first and then he would spray for 4k no scrapping. ServePro to do full demo wanted 15k. I got it done for around 900 bucks with equipment rental and chemicals. Dehumidifier I had rented was the size of a regular Fridge and a full garden hose attached to it I ran outside. The fan was like something out of a movie. Plus I had two smaller dehudifiers running 24 hours a day for 7 days.
My two neighbors had the entire flood on main level removed. I kept my floor, slightly warped and if you look close a few rusty nails.
The damm Mormans came down my block literally a few days after I finished my rip out and mold remediation which pissed me off. They did one of my neighbors house.They were pretty nice.
Red Cross did help me with my oil burner and oil tank.
jcer says:
December 30, 2014 at 1:08 pm
JJ you are one cheap dude, doing your own mold removal is nasty stuff. You’ve got to hire that out, I’m sure an unlicensed contractor could have given you a deal.
@chrislhayes:
Nice to see GOP House Leadership unanimously and unequivocally assure all of us that their colleague is not, in fact, a Neo Nazi.
@TheBaxterBean:
Republican Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) Outed As Speaker At Racist Klu Klux Klan Meeting #KKK
Poor government cannot paint school even on a budget of 20,000 per student? It’s because of the incentive and management structure. The problem is a broken system, not lack of money. Extra funds have to get split with Patterson and camden, no matter what. Or spent on an artificial turf field or faulty new roof installed by the local crony, or condos in Miami for the teacher who punched the clock the last 10 years of her career while blaming kids and parents for complaints about her class.
of all of this passage…this reported data point stood out….”A Pew Research study last year identified MSNBC as the most opinionated news network, with factual reporting accounting for just 15 percent of its content.”
MSNBC president Phil Griffin, whose cable news network is the only one among the big three to lose primetime viewers this season, told staffers he would look to turn things around by continuing a push for younger viewers in 2015.
Griffin, in a memo sent Monday, also promised “to get on the road — and outside of Washington” to broaden the network’s coverage.
“It’s no secret that 2014 was a difficult year for the entire cable news industry and especially for msnbc,” Griffin wrote.
“We have a long history of finding and nurturing great talent — and with an eye toward 2016 — we continued to build our next generation of top-notch journalists,” Griffin wrote.
The memo then singled out such 20-something hosts as Ronan Farrow, Kasie Hunt and Alex Seitz-Wald.
It also touted Shift, MSNBC’s just-launched streaming news service, which “is already allowing us to reach new, younger audiences.”
MSNBC’s push to embrace youth makes sense for the only cable news network to see its primetime audience erode in the current season, as measured by Nielsen.
Its 548,000 primetime viewers age 2 and older — down 18 percent from the comparable season a year ago — ranked third to CNN’s 560,000 (up 15 percent) and Fox News Channel’s 1,845,000 (up 1 percent).A Pew Research study last year identified MSNBC as the most opinionated news network, with factual reporting accounting for just 15 percent of its content.
MSNBC’s ratings slide suggests that Griffin’s making the network “the place to go for progressives” has outlived its usefulness as an audience builder.
Whether the changes suggested in the memo will be enough to extend Griffin’s seven-year stint atop MSNBC remains to be seen.
An early-career claim was Griffin being that rare CNN producer who could get along with Keith Olbermann. The two later reunited at MSNBC until Olbermann left in 2011, took a chunk of its ratings with him and exposed Griffin’s vulnerabilities.
“Few have praised his ability to create strong shows for MSNBC,” a cable news veteran said of Griffin. “Given the fall in ratings, I think he’s in a lot of trouble.”
Real Reason is that cute 25 year old teacher who just took over for the 55 year old teacher who took over from a teacher now 80 all three are still alive and you are paying three sets of teachers to teach one class.
In real world no pensions.
of this passage…this reported data point stood out….”A Pew Research study last year identified MSNBC as the most opinionated news network, with factual reporting accounting for just 15 percent of its content.”
MSNBC president Phil Griffin, whose cable news network is the only one among the big three to lose primetime viewers this season, told staffers he would look to turn things around by continuing a push for younger viewers in 2015.
Griffin, in a memo sent Monday, also promised “to get on the road — and outside of Washington” to broaden the network’s coverage.
“It’s no secret that 2014 was a difficult year for the entire cable news industry and especially for msnbc,” Griffin wrote.
“We have a long history of finding and nurturing great talent — and with an eye toward 2016 — we continued to build our next generation of top-notch journalists,” Griffin wrote.
The memo then singled out such 20-something hosts as Ronan Farrow, Kasie Hunt and Alex Seitz-Wald.
It also touted Shift, MSNBC’s just-launched streaming news service, which “is already allowing us to reach new, younger audiences.”
MSNBC’s push to embrace youth makes sense for the only cable news network to see its primetime audience erode in the current season, as measured by Nielsen.
Its 548,000 primetime viewers age 2 and older — down 18 percent from the comparable season a year ago — ranked third to CNN’s 560,000 (up 15 percent) and Fox News Channel’s 1,845,000 (up 1 percent).A Pew Research study last year identified MSNBC as the most opinionated news network, with factual reporting accounting for just 15 percent of its content.
MSNBC’s ratings slide suggests that Griffin’s making the network “the place to go for progress$ives” has outlived its usefulness as an audience builder.
Whether the changes suggested in the memo will be enough to extend Griffin’s seven-year stint atop MSNBC remains to be seen.
An early-career claim was Griffin being that rare CNN producer who could get along with Keith Olbermann. The two later reunited at MSNBC until Olbermann left in 2011, took a chunk of its ratings with him and exposed Griffin’s vulnerabilities.
“Few have praised his ability to create strong shows for MSNBC,” a cable news veteran said of Griffin. “Given the fall in ratings, I think he’s in a lot of trouble.”
unmod
yes…..do you travel down here at all? have you seen what they have done?
joyce says:
December 30, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Does this report say it cost almost $3 Billion dollars to widen 50 miles of road? (100 miles if it was both north and sound bound)
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 12:58 pm
GSP infrastructure update for Shore Region….
@chrislhayes:
House GOP Leadership:
“Our caucus contains ZERO Neo-Nazis, not to mention, (in just a few short days) ZERO felons.”
#56..the Police situation is 1.5 times worse….
re # 59 – Like there has never been a Democrat put in prison. Grow up Anon both parties are full of sycophants and straight up criminals, crooks, and liars.
re # 58 – Shut it already Chi we don’t want any more yankees moving down here.
Here is one for Plumpkin.
Renters paid $441 billion in 2014: Time to buy?
“New York City area renters had it the worst, paying more than 10 percent of all the rent paid in the nation.”
“In 2014, U.S. renters paid a collective $441 billion in rent, up $20.6 billion, or 4.9 percent, from 2013, according to a new report from Zillow, a real estate company. That translates to $26 more per month for the average renter. In some markets, however, the increase was far more. San Franciscans paid over 14 percent more in rent, while renters in Denver shelled out nearly 11 percent more. New York City area renters had it the worst, paying more than 10 percent of all the rent paid in the nation.” “Over the past 14 years, rents have grown at twice the pace of income due to weak income growth, burgeoning rental demand, and insufficient growth in the supply of rental housing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “Next year, we expect rents to rise even faster than home values, meaning that another increase in total rent paid similar to that seen this year isn’t out of the question. In fact, it’s probable.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102301383?trknav=homestack:topnews:17
re #62- any more Bennys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_%28slang%29
I’ve drive down to 109/105/98/82 upwards of a handful of times each per year. (You’re in the Red Bank area right?) I thought the widening was done between mile posts 30 and 80?
I’ve only driven down there twice in the past 5 years to AC and Cape May, and noticed the construction but wouldn’t be able to say good/bad/other.
Still widening 50 miles (call it 100) @ $29,000,000 per mile… sounds like a lot to me.
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 2:37 pm
yes…..do you travel down here at all? have you seen what they have done?
“Authorities in northern Idaho say a two-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a woman after he reached into her purse at a Walmart store and the concealed gun fired.”
@GuardianUS: Idaho toddler accidentally shoots and kills mother inside Walmart
@IridiumRE: .@BreakingNews @KREM2
Oh god, if only a responsible, armed citizen had been on hand to stop this madman!
Thanks for the share. Great time to be a landlord. Best part, you get to sell to the renter class for a nice profit when they are ready to buy when the market picks up. It doesn’t get better than this. Use the renter to cover your costs and then get to sell to them when they all rush like sheep to go buy a home inflating the real estate market back up.
I’m too nice. Leaving all my rents the same for 2015. Hopefully they will move out so I can get more. My second floor left earlier this year (been there since the 90’s) and was able to raise the rent 200 dollars and got someone in one day. Prob should have rIsed it more, but I’m not a total Scrooge.
Juice Box says:
December 30, 2014 at 2:55 pm
Here is one for Plumpkin.
Renters paid $441 billion in 2014: Time to buy?
“New York City area renters had it the worst, paying more than 10 percent of all the rent paid in the nation.”
“In 2014, U.S. renters paid a collective $441 billion in rent, up $20.6 billion, or 4.9 percent, from 2013, according to a new report from Zillow, a real estate company. That translates to $26 more per month for the average renter. In some markets, however, the increase was far more. San Franciscans paid over 14 percent more in rent, while renters in Denver shelled out nearly 11 percent more. New York City area renters had it the worst, paying more than 10 percent of all the rent paid in the nation.” “Over the past 14 years, rents have grown at twice the pace of income due to weak income growth, burgeoning rental demand, and insufficient growth in the supply of rental housing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “Next year, we expect rents to rise even faster than home values, meaning that another increase in total rent paid similar to that seen this year isn’t out of the question. In fact, it’s probable.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102301383?trknav=homestack:topnews:17
69- please continue to spread the word that renting is way better than owning. Owners are such suckers. Spread the word.
I am not defending the price, and I have no frame of reference as to what is reasonable or unreasonable. “Widening” is more than just adding a lane or lanes. In many instances, the existing lanes were widened by a foot or more. Also there was the construction of catch basins for stormwater runoff so it was quickly removed from the roads. It also involved a census of accident patterns and mitigation techniques. Several interchanges were entirely reconstructed, as many had obsolete access ramps. The interchange at exit 88 was particularly horrendous. New interchanges were created due to population and volume increases. Also, many multi-grade crossings were replaced. There was also traffic monitoring and control technology added……..travelling during peak summer months should be vastly improved.
joyce says:
December 30, 2014 at 3:06 pm
I’ve drive down to 109/105/98/82 upwards of a handful of times each per year. (You’re in the Red Bank area right?) I thought the widening was done between mile posts 30 and 80?
I’ve only driven down there twice in the past 5 years to AC and Cape May, and noticed the construction but wouldn’t be able to say good/bad/other.
Still widening 50 miles (call it 100) @ $29,000,000 per mile… sounds like a lot to me.
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 2:37 pm
yes…..do you travel down here at all? have you seen what they have done?
By JAMES BLOODWORTH
Christmas came early for the world’s liberal democracies this year, with news in mid-December that repressive regimes from Russia to Venezuela and from Iran to Belarus are tumbling down an economic spiral. Who or what should we thank for this geopolitical yuletide? The neocons? Pro-democracy protesters? George W. Bush and Tony Blair ?
No. Thank instead American shale producers. The shale-gas and hydraulic-fracking revolution is lighting a figurative bonfire under the world’s petrocracies. Dictatorships that for years blackmailed the West in the knowledge that we would come crawling back for the black stuff are now catching a glimpse of a bleak future.
As the American people and companies shift more of their consumption to cheaply produced domestic energy, the geopolitical leverage of oil-rich autocrats diminishes. A barrel of crude on Monday sold for less than $60, down nearly 50% since June when it went for $115. Take that, ayatollah.
This is a price drop made in the shale-rich heartlands of the U.S. Between 2007 and 2012, shale production in America jumped by more than 50% a year. In that time the shale share of total U.S. gas production rose to 39% from 5%. Last year the U.S. overtook Russia as the world’s leading energy producer; next year America is projected to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer of crude oil.
One consequence is a massive fall in the price of oil just a few years after the words “peak oil” were being bandied around as gospel by environmentalists. Peak oil now looks like one of the most outlandish theories of our era. Rather than contract, the global supply of energy continues to diversify and expand, in no small part because of the boom in American shale.
This ought to put a smile not only on the faces of free-market economists, but liberals and progressives, too. As America becomes a net exporter of energy, shale could help topple some of the world’s worst regimes.
The relationship between oil wealth and autocracy is well-established, with a number of studies showing that democracy is less likely in oil-rich nations. Oil wealth helps keep dictators in their palaces by allowing vast military expenditure to repress dissent and providing a ready pool of money with which to co-opt their populations through generous welfare stipends.
Sitting atop large and valuable energy reserves also gives autocrats the luxury of keeping a tight lid on economic entrepreneurship. Winning the geographical lottery ensures that the oil money comes in regardless of how little revenue the rest of the economy generates.
Consider Russia and Venezuela. At least some voters in both countries have tolerated the emaciation of civil society while the Putinist and Chavista regimes have learned to use oil money to fend off unrest and buy off loyal cronies. Meanwhile, the armed forces in both nations have been placated with high-tech toys and rising salaries.
Despite legitimate environmental concerns about fracking and horizontal drilling, the long-term impact of shale on the global oil price means that regimes that have long relied on a single export for their survival are facing a potentially ruinous economic future.
Russia’s economic woes are well-documented, largely due to the fact that oil revenues make up 45% of the government budget. But elites in Iran and Venezuela also have the jitters and have been pleading with OPEC, the world’s largest oil cartel, to cut production to prevent the price of oil from falling any lower. Venezuela needs a price of $151 a barrel next year to balance its budget while Iran requires around $131.
So far Sunni Saudi Arabia has been willing to tolerate low prices in order to hurt its Shiite rival in Tehran. Yet Riyadh is no less worried about the long-term consequences of shale than are the Iranians—it simply has a bigger buffer of foreign-exchange reserves with which to soak up the short-term consequences. If oil stays at $60 per barrel in 2015, Riyadh will run a deficit equal to 14% of gross domestic product.
Some of the most vociferous opponents of fracking are liberals, yet the shale revolution has the potential to undermine some of the world’s most illiberal regimes, in the process freeing the U.S. from its bondage to Saudi Arabia, as demanded by progressives for decades. Thuggish governments in Caracas, Moscow and Tehran don’t much like shale either, which ought to endear it still further to democrats.
This is not to dismiss the environmental concerns regarding shale extraction in urban areas, nor to call for the abandonment of a long-term strategy in the West for the development of green renewables. Yet it is to recognize that American shale producers are engaged in a price war with some of the world’s vilest regimes. In that respect, the left should get on board the fracking revolution.
Mr. Bloodworth is editor of the blog Left Foot Forward.
By JAMES BLOODWORTH
Christmas came early for the world’s liberal democracies this year, with news in mid-December that repressive regimes from Russia to Venezuela and from Iran to Belarus are tumbling down an economic spiral. Who or what should we thank for this geopolitical yuletide? The neocons? Pro-democracy protesters? George W. Bush and Tony Blair ?
No. Thank instead American shale producers. The shale-gas and hydraulic-fracking revolution is lighting a figurative bonfire under the world’s petrocracies. Dictatorships that for years blackmailed the West in the knowledge that we would come crawling back for the black stuff are now catching a glimpse of a bleak future.
As the American people and companies shift more of their consumption to cheaply produced domestic energy, the geopolitical leverage of oil-rich autocrats diminishes. A barrel of crude on Monday sold for less than $60, down nearly 50% since June when it went for $115. Take that, ayatollah.
This is a price drop made in the shale-rich heartlands of the U.S. Between 2007 and 2012, shale production in America jumped by more than 50% a year. In that time the shale share of total U.S. gas production rose to 39% from 5%. Last year the U.S. overtook Russia as the world’s leading energy producer; next year America is projected to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer of crude oil.
One consequence is a massive fall in the price of oil just a few years after the words “peak oil” were being bandied around as gospel by environmentalists. Peak oil now looks like one of the most outlandish theories of our era. Rather than contract, the global supply of energy continues to diversify and expand, in no small part because of the boom in American shale.
This ought to put a smile not only on the faces of free-market economists, but liberals and progressives, too. As America becomes a net exporter of energy, shale could help topple some of the world’s worst regimes.
The relationship between oil wealth and autocracy is well-established, with a number of studies showing that democracy is less likely in oil-rich nations. Oil wealth helps keep dictators in their palaces by allowing vast military expenditure to repress dissent and providing a ready pool of money with which to co-opt their populations through generous welfare stipends.
Sitting atop large and valuable energy reserves also gives autocrats the luxury of keeping a tight lid on economic entrepreneurship. Winning the geographical lottery ensures that the oil money comes in regardless of how little revenue the rest of the economy generates.
Consider Russia and Venezuela. At least some voters in both countries have tolerated the emaciation of civil society while the Putinist and Chavista regimes have learned to use oil money to fend off unrest and buy off loyal cronies. Meanwhile, the armed forces in both nations have been placated with high-tech toys and rising salaries.
Despite legitimate environmental concerns about fracking and horizontal drilling, the long-term impact of shale on the global oil price means that regimes that have long relied on a single export for their survival are facing a potentially ruinous economic future.
Russia’s economic woes are well-documented, largely due to the fact that oil revenues make up 45% of the government budget. But elites in Iran and Venezuela also have the jitters and have been pleading with OPEC, the world’s largest oil cartel, to cut production to prevent the price of oil from falling any lower. Venezuela needs a price of $151 a barrel next year to balance its budget while Iran requires around $131.
So far Sunni Saudi Arabia has been willing to tolerate low prices in order to hurt its Shiite rival in Tehran. Yet Riyadh is no less worried about the long-term consequences of shale than are the Iranians—it simply has a bigger buffer of foreign-exchange reserves with which to soak up the short-term consequences. If oil stays at $60 per barrel in 2015, Riyadh will run a deficit equal to 14% of gross domestic product.
Some of the most vociferous opponents of fracking are liberals, yet the shale revolution has the potential to undermine some of the world’s most illiberal regimes, in the process freeing the U.S. from its bond^ge to Saudi Arabia, as demanded by progressives for decades. Thuggish governments in Caracas, Moscow and Tehran don’t much like shale either, which ought to endear it still further to democrats.
This is not to dismiss the environmental concerns regarding shale extraction in urban areas, nor to call for the abandonment of a long-term strategy in the West for the development of green renewables. Yet it is to recognize that American shale producers are engaged in a price war with some of the world’s vilest regimes. In that respect, the left should get on board the fracking revolution.
Mr. Bloodworth is editor of the blog Left Foot Forward.
I know this sounds crazy, but traffic has actually improved from all the construction upgrades in our state the past 10 years. Once this rt 46/rt 3 disaster gets fixed, this state will have a much higher quality of life. The improvements made on the parkway the past couple of years have already helped improve traffic congestion dramatically, imo. That’s where tax dollars should be spent, on improving infrastructure and education. Do those things right and everything else falls into place.
chicagofinance says:
December 30, 2014 at 4:43 pm
I am not defending the price, and I have no frame of reference as to what is reasonable or unreasonable. “Widening” is more than just adding a lane or lanes. In many instances, the existing lanes were widened by a foot or more. Also there was the construction of catch basins for stormwater runoff so it was quickly removed from the roads. It also involved a census of accident patterns and mitigation techniques. Several interchanges were entirely reconstructed, as many had obsolete access ramps. The interchange at exit 88 was particularly horrendous. New interchanges were created due to population and volume increases. Also, many multi-grade crossings were replaced. There was also traffic monitoring and control technology added……..travelling during peak summer months should be vastly improved.
72- Chi, great article. Love reading this. Thanks for the share.
“No. Thank instead American shale producers. The shale-gas and hydraulic-fracking revolution is lighting a figurative bonfire under the world’s petrocracies. Dictatorships that for years blackmailed the West in the knowledge that we would come crawling back for the black stuff are now catching a glimpse of a bleak future.
As the American people and companies shift more of their consumption to cheaply produced domestic energy, the geopolitical leverage of oil-rich autocrats diminishes. A barrel of crude on Monday sold for less than $60, down nearly 50% since June when it went for $115. Take that, ayatollah.”
Happy New Years folks. I am out of here till next year. 2015 DOW up 8% is my prediction and real estate flat.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rt46/pdf/proposedimprovmentsplan.pdf
The new design is very interesting. Surprised that there will no longer be access to Rt 46 West directly from Valley Road. Instead it appears that Notch Road will become the major artery for that traffic.
Also surprised they didn’t connect Rt 3 West with Rt 46 East, always thought that was an easy flyover. I know the quicker route is to hop on Parkway North, but there is a toll to take that ‘shortcut’.
Rt 46 East to Rt 3 East will be a major improvement, it’s nearly a straight shot through, 3 full lanes. Instead of Rt 3 being the narrow exit, it appears that the less trafficked Rt 46 will be the ‘exit’ with 2 full lanes. I would be very surprised if this didn’t completely eliminate all the traffic at the juncture.
Can’t wait.
word up
The Great Pumpkin says:
December 30, 2014 at 5:01 pm
That’s where tax dollars should be spent, on improving infrastructure and education.
The End Is Nigh (jj Designs Children’s Toys Edition):
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-30/playdoh-enrages-parents-with-a-p5nisshaped-baking-toy#r=rss
Replace 5 with e
#76..are they fixing the 3 lanes to 2 lanes Rt 3 West at Fette Ford bridge issue? I thought that was they key issue?
71
I appreciate it’s more than (re)paving a road, or adding a lane, etc. Just a reminder, that example of 88 is not in scope of this project (30-80).
#25 Grim
Word was that the head was bobbling a lot on John Mayer!
3 Billion on the GSP is a waste unless you are going to open it up to truck traffic. The only ones that make out on a project like this are the Creamer and Sanzaris of the world. Infrastructure is not like the Eisenhower days where an interstate would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Infrastructure should be limited to Public Safety, i.e. fix the potholes and the crumbling bridges or provide direct economic benefit. Rt3 / Rt46, or widening the Turnpike at Junction 8.
Also all road crews should be shipped in from the Midwest. how can they build a road in 6 months out there, but they have been repairing the Gowanas for the past 20 years.
Staples deal of the year. 20 reams of paper for $11 after tax. You pay $107 and get $96 back on Pre paid Visa.
Stock up!
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1418172/
#72 Chi
Umm, not quite. While the currmnt oil price is hurting those regimes, it is also hurting Shale an Tar Sands. The middle East can sit at this price and even lower for a long time. Remember the days of (was it Bi ?) the call for $20 oil.
The one thing that article did touch on which will be the end game. The Shale gas will be heading for Export and at that point you can say goodbye to your energy independence.
more leg room please.
Men’s Rights Group Demands Their Balls Be Allowed to Breathe on Buses
http://jezebel.com/mens-rights-group-demands-their-balls-be-allowed-to-bre-1675999597?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Myopic clown……check where revenue is generated in the state before you foam at the mouth with misinformation……
Fabius Maximus says:
December 30, 2014 at 6:33 pm
3 Billion on the GSP is a waste unless you are going to open it up to truck traffic. The only ones that make out on a project like this are the Creamer and Sanzaris of the world. Infrastructure is not like the Eisenhower days where an interstate would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Infrastructure should be limited to Public Safety, i.e. fix the potholes and the crumbling bridges or provide direct economic benefit. Rt3 / Rt46, or widening the Turnpike at Junction 8.
Also all road crews should be shipped in from the Midwest. how can they build a road in 6 months out there, but they have been repairing the Gowanas for the past 20 years.
More haute cuisine for clot…..
Is that bean curd or turd in your Chinese takeout?
A Brooklyn-based food supplier to Chinese restaurants was cited for its alleged wonton disregard of sanitary codes – after rodent carcasses, feces and urine were found in a warehouse.
The US Food and Drug Administration cited the New Yung Wah Trading Co. for a host of nauseating health violations after an October inspection at its warehouse in McKees Rocks, Pa.
“Birds were observed flying through the facility and landing and defecating on stored food products,” the FDA wrote in its Dec. 9 letter.
The FDA told the company that it found a rodent’s nest in a box of thawing meat, dead rodents, rodent feces in food cartons, rodent feces and urine in bags of monosodium glutamate, or MSG, birds flying in the warehouse and smoking food handlers.
The company, which distributes to eateries across the East and Midwest, also allegedly failed to use rodenticides to prevent contamination, to ensure proper floor drainage and to remove pest-attracting litter, among other violations.
“In the dry storage area, what appeared to be rodent excreta was observed on pallets of stored food products near the entrance, which lead a path to a hole inside a bag of flour which appeared to be a rodent gnaw hole,” the FDA wrote.
The agency also found that workers could not inspect for rodents because the whole facility was too crammed with food packages.
The FDA noted the company’s Nov. 19 written response to the letter but said it was not satisfied.
“We do not consider this response acceptable because you failed to provide documentation for our review, which demonstrates your noted corrective actions,” it wrote.
The company was also in trouble with Pennsylvania officials earlier this year after a truck with spoiled fish was intercepted by police, the Daily Finance reported.
New Yung Wah could not be reached for comment.
It’s hard to understand the differences in doing business in America, you’ve got to realize that. It’s simply not the way business is done back home.
re # 89 – with additional stratification we will be going back to the old ways.
re # 87 – FabMax – ” Creamer and Sanzaris”
Take a few seconds to check the contracts, nobody from that neck of the woods (notrh of the bridge) involved. Seven bids on a few legs of this project too, not to say it isn’t cheaper elsewhere as we all know.
Also – “Infrastructure should be limited to Public Safety” Check the press, 9,000 accidents in a seven year period. Anyone who spent their summers at the Jersey Shore knows the parkway is a deathtrap when the traffic builds, thank god for EzPass I say.
On that note don’t move the Fck down here Benny!
re # 89 – re: old ways.
This cracks me up, my cousin rolling in it, 400 million plus EU people “protected” by this little office. Google, Facebook etc domiciled in Ireland. This is almost as sad as some of those offices down in Washington DC with much bigger budgets.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/22/irish_data_cops_to_get_double_funding_next_year/
chi (23)-
Giada is definitely no more than hit-it-and-forget-it material. Total head case.
And, she freaked herself out opening a POS restaurant in Vegas.
Once John Mayer taps it, you know that’s one that needs to be put out to pasture.
Yuck.
Bitch can’t cook, either.
Check out this article from USA TODAY:
10 states missing out on the housing recovery
http://usat.ly/1AX28LD
Fast Eddie, looking over listings and must say the inventory is horrible. Slim pickings. Takes patience, knowing what area you want, and finding the best agent in that area. Only way to buy in this market.
So, Chubb will be expanding in Readington. Good news for the 78 corridor.
#91 Juice
The point is that the construction dollars are concentrated in a small number of companies. Here is the South Jersey list.
http://www.thomasnet.com/southern-new-jersey/contractors-road-highway-construction-1240-1.html?WTZO=Search+Results+Side+Bar
9000 accidents in a seven year period make it safer than the rest of the parkway, whah averages about 9000 a year in total.
As for your third point, you can keep it. I do my beach at the Irish Riviera or Montauk. You can keep you WaWa and Bennys.
You want to spend Infrstructure dollars.
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/new_jersey/new-jersey-overview/
624 of the 6,566 bridges in New Jersey (9.5%) are considered structurally deficient.
1,710 of the 6,566 bridges in New Jersey (26%) are considered functionally obsolete.
New Jersey has 18 freight railroads covering 983 miles across the state, ranking it 40th by mileage.
New Jersey produces .868 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy every year, ranking it 46th.